9 a.m. update: Rush hour wrap up

Monday's morning rush produced only a few spots where commuters ran into snags. A traffic light malfunction along Hwy. 7 through Minnetonka between Hwy. 101 and Williston Road messed things up for about an hour during the heart of the rush. The repairs have been made and lights are back on. As a result, no more stagnation.

Two spearate crashes involving vehicles and dump trucks had traffic on westbound 94 sluggish between Hamline Avenue and Cretin Avenue. Both crashes, which happened during the 7 a.m. hour, have cleared out but traffic still is sputtering along in the Midway.

South metro drivers endured another grueling drive on northbound I-35 through Lakeville as the road construction has the freeway down to a single lane in both directions between County Road 70 and County Road 50. That project has another week, according to MnDOT.

Things did improve on I-35 later in the rush with a minor slow down at County Road 50 the only hangup at this hour.

The ramp from University Avenue to westbound 694 was troublesome for semitrailer truck drivers. Earlier one left its trailer behind and had the ramp blocked for a short time. Now we have a disabled truck possibly leaking fuel, so use caution as you pass by.

A car vs semitrailer truck on the right shoulder of northbound 35W at Park Avenue is on the right shoulder. Thankfuly that is not causing much of an isse for late rush hour commuters.

Elsewhere on the system, traffic clipped along without much of an issue. The usual congestion formed on eastbound 94 from Albertville to Rogers between 6:30 and 8 a.m., but that is gone.

Drivers on southbound 494 also saw heavy levels of traffic from the Maple Grove split down to Hwy. 55 for much of the rush, which added an extra 5 minutes to the normal drive.

Today in Oakdale and Oak Park Heights, crews are patching and repairing the four-lane section of eastbound Hwy. 5 between 53rd Street and Hwy. 36. Look for delays and lane closures.